HOWZAT

Last year, the company sold the freehold on the landmark Asprey store to the Irish property investor Derek Quinlan for a reported £100m.

At the time the group said it needed the proceeds to fund its international expansion. But the deal saddled the business with a hefty rent bill, said to be as high as £4m. Some suppliers have become so concerned by the rumours that they have taken the unusual step of only supplying goods that had been paid for upfront.

Two years ago Asprey sparkled as Knightley joined stars including Sir Elton John and the Duke and Duchess of York at the grand reopening party for its New Bond Street flagship store. The store’s refurbishment was masterminded by Sir Norman Foster, the architect, and the interior designer David Mlinaric. It took two years and cost an estimated £30m to £40m.

The reopening was a significant milestone for Lawrence Stroll and Silas Chou, the entrepreneurs behind the Tommy Hilfiger fashion label, who bought Asprey and Garrard in 2000 from Prince Jefri Bolkiah, playboy brother of the Sultan of Brunei.

Stroll and Chou brought in the Bronfman family and Morgan Stanley’s private-equity arm as investors. All are now sitting on big losses.

Some retail experts trace Asprey’s fall back to the refurbishment. Set in a row of seven terraced townhouses with a large glass front, the centrepiece of the store is a glass-roofed atrium with a freestanding, stone staircase.

Robert Clark, senior partner at Retail Knowledge Bank, a consultancy, said: “I think this stems back to when they closed the store for its revamp. It was dependent on a small number of high-rolling clients. During that period, they appeared to drift away.”

Stroll and Chou’s strategy was to turn Asprey from an exclusive jeweller into a luxury lifestyle brand, competing with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Cartier. But it was too much too soon, said critics.

“The company needed a rejig, some new carpets and some new ideas. They gave it a head transplant and it just didn’t work,” said one senior fashion executive.

After its makeover, the New Bond Street store had more or less doubled the amount of floor space, while the range expanded to include fashion and footwear as well as new lines of leather goods, jewellery and silverware.

Vivienne Becker, jewellery writer for the style bible Harpers Bazaar, said: “Fine jewellery is a very different purchase from fashion or accessories. It is a market with huge potential but it’s a very particular market. Owners must understand that.”

Asprey’s new owners take over a company that is a far cry from the store presided over by the Asprey family, which was regularly patronised by royalty.

Piers Hart, a cabinetmaker based in East Anglia, is one of Asprey’s smaller suppliers but he has worked with the store since he set up his business 30 years ago.

“A&G was in a unique position in this country for decades. It provided an outlet for some of the most talented craftsmen and workshops in this country,” said Hart.

When it looked to its stores instead of its stock, Asprey lost its sparkle.

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